The Ratewatch
 Commentary by Bill Brizendine of Melody Capital MarketsA stronger-than-expected, but not too strong, job growth number generated more confidence that the Fed is through with rate hikes for awhile and further calmed the Treasury markets last week. The yield on the 10-year UST drifted lower another 5 bps, closing at 4.73% on Friday. Unfortunately, it was all given back by mid-day today with a morning sell-off suggesting profit-taking. Apparently, traders do not expect the yield to go much lower and many are cashing in on their gains since Treasury yields peaked in mid May. (Is this what they call a “self fulfilling prophesy”?) The market will be eyeballing productivity and unit labor cost reports tomorrow, then initial jobless claims on Thursday. Assuming no surprises in those figures, and if the traders are right and we have bottomed out on yields, maybe we will see some stability in the Treasury markets through the next Fed meeting (September 20) into late October. Download The RateWatch: A one-page analysis of institutional lending rates |